RESEARCH METHODS IN TAXATION AND BUSINESS LAW€¦ · Research Methods in Taxation and Business Law TABL5805 This course is designed as an introduction to academic research in taxation

www.asb.unsw.edu.au

CRICOS Code: 00098G

TABL5805 RESEARCH METHODS IN

TAXATION AND BUSINESS LAW

COURSE OUTLINE

SEMESTER 1, 2014

© 2014 The University of New South Wales Sydney 2052 Australia The original material prepared for this guide is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the Head of School, T, UNSW, Sydney 2052.

Australian School of Business Taxation and Business Law Course Outline

Research Methods in Taxation and Business Law

TABL5805

This course is designed as an introduction to academic research in taxation at postgraduate level. The aim of the course is to assist students in developing a broad understanding of research processes in general, and taxation research skills in particular. These research skills, which include legal, qualitative, quantitative and mixed approaches, will enable students to successfully complete their research projects.

Semester 1, 2014

TABL5805 Research Methods in Taxation & Business Law

Outline Page 2 Atax

Edition Semester 1, 2014

© Copyright The University of New South Wales, 2014

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the Head of School.

Copyright for acknowledged materials reproduced herein is retained by the copyright holder.

All readings in this publication are copied under licence in accordance with Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968.

A U T H O R S

Associate Professor Binh Tran-Nam BEc (Hons) James Cook, MEc ANU, PhD UNSW

Professor Margaret McKerchar BA(Accounting) Canberra CAE, MBA UNE, PhD

UNSW, CTA, FCPA

Fiona Martin LLB (Hons) NSWIT LLM (Hons) Syd CTA

R E V I S I O N S F O R 2 0 1 4 B Y :

Margaret McKerchar (Materials updated as at February 2014)

Educational Design & Desktop Publishing by:

BBlueprint EEducational SServices P/L http://www.b‐print.com.au

P.O. Box 54 Stanhope Gardens NSW, 2768


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Contents

COURSE OUTLINE

About the lecturer ................................................................................. 4

Letter of introduction ........................................................................... 5

Introduction to the course ..................................................................... 6 Course evaluation and quality enhancement .............................. 7 Student learning outcomes and goals ......................................... 8

How to use this package ..................................................................... 11

Key to instructional icons ................................................................... 12

Profile of this course .......................................................................... 13 Course description ................................................................... 13 Textbooks and references ........................................................ 14

Supporting your learning .................................................................... 15 Conferencing ............................................................................ 15 School of Taxation & Business Law Website ......................... 16 Atax Student Guide .................................................................. 16 Library and resources ............................................................... 16 Online learning in this course .................................................. 17 Other support ........................................................................... 18 Academic Honesty and Plagiarism .......................................... 19 Assessment............................................................................... 21 ASSIGNMENT 1: TABL5805 .................................... 22 ASSIGNMENT 2: TABL5805 .................................... 24 ASSIGNMENT 3: TABL5805 .................................... 26

Suggested study schedule ................................................................... 29

Appendix A—Assignment preparation and submission

STUDY GUIDE

Module 1 Overview of research

Module 2 Approaches to legal research

Module 3 Quantitative methods

Module 4 Qualitative methods

Module 5 Mixed methods


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About the lecturer

Margaret McKerchar BA(Accounting), MBA, PhD (UNSW), FTIA, FCPA

Margaret McKerchar is a Professor and former Head of School at Atax. She joined Atax in 2005 from her previous appointment at The University of Sydney and brings with her over thirty years’ experience in tax.

Commencing her career in 1975 as a cadet in the Australian Taxation Office, Margaret has worked in practice and has been a registered tax agent since 1984. She has made a major contribution to taxation in Australia since 1990 as an academic and researcher. During this period she has conducted research, presented papers and published both in Australia and overseas on tax compliance, tax policy and tax reform.

Margaret was awarded the Graham Hill ATTA Medal for services to tax teaching and policy in 2009. Other achievements include being runner-up in the OECD 2nd Jan Franke Tax Research Award in 2002 for a paper on lessons for tax administrations, and being awarded the CPA Frank Burke Research Scholarship in 2003. Margaret has had Research Fellowships to San Jose State University, Curtin University and UiTM Malaysia. She is an Erskine Fellow at University of Canterbury and an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Australia.


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Letter of introduction

Welcome to Research Methods in Taxation and Business Law.

This course seeks to provide you with a range of research skills which are considered to be essential to research in taxation and business law at postgraduate level. The course has a two-fold aim. The immediate, specific, objective is to ensure that you will be well equipped with research tools that will help you to successfully complete your thesis. The long-term, general, objective is to familiarise you with the process of generating and conducting research well beyond your current studies. In this sense, the course should be regarded as the beginning of a long and often challenging process. Remember that your research skills are continuously evolving and can only be further refined through repeated application.

Since tax and business law can be multidisciplinary, the range of technical skills required for research is, accordingly, large. These include legal, quantitative, qualitative and mixed approaches. As you have diverse experience in your undergraduate studies, you will find some aspects of the course familiar while others quite novel. Although you may need only some of the skills covered in this course for your thesis, it is important to be reasonably competent in the other areas covered as well. This demands commitment and focus on your part.

Good luck with your study and research!

Margaret McKerchar


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Introduction to the course

For those students who enroll in a higher degree by research, this course is the first stage of a coherent academic program at Masters level which includes development of research skills, development of research question(s) for the thesis, and completion of the thesis in that sequential order. Thus, this course is compulsory for those students and should normally be attempted as the first course in their program. In particular, it should be attempted concurrently with, or before, TABL5810 Dissertation Proposal.

This course is also available as an elective to those students enrolling in the Master of Taxation or Master of International Tax.

Relationship to other courses in program

This course should be taken either concurrently with or before TABL5810 Dissertation Proposal. This course is also a prerequisite for both TABL6010 Dissertation Full-time or TABL6011 Dissertation Part-time.

Course summary

This course provides an introduction to the research process and analytical skills with particular reference to postgraduate research in tax and business law.

Course objectives

After successfully completing this course, students will:

be familiar with reseach processes, design and methodologies in general

possess adequate skills in all four methods of research commonly used in these disciplines, namely, the legal, quantitative, qualitative and mixed approaches

be able to identify the combination of skills which are relevant to the chosen topics of their Master dissertations

be able to apply the relevant research methodologies and skills to the research for their dissertations.


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Course evaluation and quality enhancement The School of Taxation & Business Law’s quality enhancement process involves regular review of its courses and study materials by content and educational specialists, combined with feedback from students. Towards the end of the semester, you will be asked to complete an online survey via myUNSW to evaluate the effectiveness of your course lecturer and the actual course content. These surveys are administered as part of the UNSW Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement process (‘CATEI’). Your input into this quality enhancement process through the completion of these surveys is extremely valuable in assisting us in meeting the needs of our students and in providing an effective and enriching learning experience. The results of all surveys are carefully considered and do lead to action towards enhance the quality or course content and delivery.

Based on the results to the most recent CATEI surveys, students seem satisfied with this course so no major changes have been made for the current offering.

Student responsibilities and conduct

Students are expected to be familiar with and to adhere to university policies in relation to attendance, and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed.

You are expected to conduct yourself with consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff. More information on student conduct is available at: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/BehaviourOfStudents.html

Guide to online behaviour: https://student.unsw.edu.au/online-study

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course Website, Moodle. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university e-mail address without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this information. It is also your responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to your contact details.

Information and policies on these topics can be found in the ‘A-Z Student Guide: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/A.html and in the Atax Student Guide. See, especially, information on ‘Attendance and Absence’, ‘Academic Misconduct’, ‘Assessment Information’, ‘Examinations’, ‘Student Responsibilities’, ‘Workload’ and policies such as ‘Occupational Health and Safety.


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Student learning outcomes and goals Learning outcomes are what you should be able to do by the end of this course if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items. The learning outcomes in this course will help you to achieve some of the overall learning goals for your program. These program learning goals are what we want you to be or have by the time you successfully complete your degree. The following is a list of the ASB program learning goals for postgraduate students.

ASB Postgraduate Coursework Program Learning Goals

1. Knowledge: Our graduates will have current disciplinary or interdisciplinary knowledge applicable in local and global contexts. You should be able to identify and apply current knowledge of disciplinary or interdisciplinary theory and professional practice to business in local and global environments.

2. Critical thinking and problem solving: Our graduates will have critical thinking and problem solving skills applicable to business and management practice or issues. You should be able to identify, research and analyse complex issues and problems in business and/or management, and propose appropriate and well-justified solutions.

3. Communication: Our graduates will be effective communicators in professional contexts. You should be able to:

a) Produce written documents that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively for the intended audience and purpose, and

b) Produce oral presentations that communicate complex disciplinary ideas and information effectively for the intended audience and purpose.

4. Teamwork: Our graduates will be effective team participants. You should be able to participate collaboratively and responsibly in teams, and reflect on your own teamwork, and on the team’s processes and ability to achieve outcomes.

5. Ethical, social and environmental responsibility: Our graduates will have a sound awareness of ethical, social, cultural and environmental implications of business issues and practice. You should be able to:

a) Identify and assess ethical, environmental and/or sustainability considerations in business decision-making and practice, and

b) Consider social and cultural implications of business and /or management practice.


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The following table shows how your Course Learning Outcomes relate to the overall Program Learning Goals, and indicates where these are developed and assessed:

Program Learning Goals

Course Learning Outcomes Course Assessment

Item

This course helps you to achieve the following learning goals:

On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

This learning outcome will be assessed in the following items:

1 Knowledge

Demonstrate working knowledge and skills in the application of legal, quantitative, qualitative and mixed method research approaches to research problems in the taxation discipline.

Conceptualise an original piece of research which contributes to the existing pool of knowledge by enhancing our understanding of a phenomenon, behaviour or relationship.

Module Activities

Assignments

2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critically analyse research relevant to the taxation discipline in terms of its knowledge claims, strategies of enquiry and research methods.

Demonstrate the skills needed to apply a variety of information tools in undertaking legal research, and locate and evaluate primary and secondary courses relevant to a specific research problem.

Locate, interpret and evaluate published research relevant to the taxation discipline.

Module Activities

Assignments

3a Written communication

Communicate research findings (including an explanation of knowledge claims, strategies of enquiry and research methods) to an appropriate audience—which may include specialists in their field, the public at large and/or the government—for evaluation, assessment, application or implementation.

Assignments

3b Oral communication

Not specifically addressed in this course.

4 Teamwork Not specifically addressed in this course.

5a. Ethical, environmental and sustainability responsibility

Understand the ethical consideration to be taken into account in any piece of research, and will conduct and report research in accordance with the established ethical framework for such activities.

Module Activities

Assignments

5b. Social and cultural awareness

Appreciate the multidisciplinary nature of taxation research and be exposed to the perspectives and research methodologies law, accounting, economics, sociology, political science, history and psychology as the contribute to the generation of knowledge relevant to the study of taxation.

Module Activities

Assignments


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Student responsibilities and conduct

Students are expected to be familiar with and to adhere to university policies in relation to attendance, and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed.

You are expected to conduct yourself with consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff. More information on student conduct is available at: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/BehaviourOfStudents.html

Guide to online behaviour: http://teaching.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/upload-files/student_online_guide_bb.pdf

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course web site. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university e-mail address without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this information. It is also your responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to your contact details.

Information and policies on these topics can be found in the ‘A-Z Student Guide: https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/A.html and in the Atax Student Guide. See, especially, information on ‘Attendance and Absence’, ‘Academic Misconduct’, ‘Assessment Information’, ‘Examinations’, ‘Student Responsibilities’, ‘Workload’ and policies such as ‘Occupational Health and Safety.


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How to use this package If you are new to flexible learning you should carefully read this Course Outline. It contains most of the relevant information about how this course will be run and the expectations of you as a student. You should also refer to the Suggested Study Schedule at the end of this Course Outline. To get the most out of your study we recommend that you follow this schedule through the course and fit various time demands into a well-organised diary. Systematic study through the Semester is the key to success in a flexible learning program.

The Study Guide (which includes this Course Outline and the individual Modules and is sometimes referred to as the study materials or course materials) can help you in three ways. 1. It sets out a clear path of study over the Semester and helps you

plan your workload. It also identifies learning outcomes and key concepts at the start of each module and provides a series of activities to help you learn actively and manage your own progress through the course.

2. It contains the core content for the course (often with reference to legislation, textbooks and other relevant material). The structure and layout of the Study Guide is designed to highlight key points and assist your revision for assignments, research papers and examinations.

3. It tells you when to refer to textbooks, legislation and other readings, giving precise details of what you should read.

Features of the Study Guide

Each module includes a range of features to assist you in managing your learning and developing study skills. These features include:

Overview page

Heading levels

Learning outcomes and key concepts

Module text

Activities and feedback

Readings

Margin notes

Instructional icons

Please familiarise yourself with the Key to Instructional Icons on the following page. These icons are intended to help you navigate the study materials and to encourage active learning.



Key to instructional icons

compulsory reading

write responses outside the Study Materials

optional reading

write response in the

Study Materials

note this important point

pause to reflect

recall earlier work

prepare for discussion in an

Audio Conference or Webinar

discuss with colleague

discuss with study group

access Moodle or the internet

undertake investigation

or research

use video resource

use audio resource

use software

perform fieldwork

Only some of the media shown in the instructional icons are used in this course.



Profile of this course

Course description

Course number/s

TABL5805

Course name

Research Methods in Taxation and Business Law

Units of credit

6

Suggested study commitment

You should plan to spend an average of 10–12 hours per week on this course to perform well (including class attendance, online participation, assignments, examination preparation etc). The information included on the overview page of each module should help you plan your study time.

Semester and year

Semester 1, 2014

Lecturer/s Margaret McKerchar

Contact details

Telephone:

Fax:

Email:

+61 (2) 9385 9550

+61 (2) 9313 6658

[email protected]



Textbooks and references

Prescribed textbook/s

You must purchase or have access to the following publication/s.

McKerchar, M, Design and Conduct of Research in Tax, Law and Accounting (Sydney: Thomson Reuters, 2010). This is referred to throughout the Study Guide as ‘Textbook’.

Citation and style guide

In presenting written work for assessment in this course you must use an appropriate and consistent style for referencing and citation. The following is a selection of acceptable citation and style guides, which you may use as the basis for your written work. You must purchase or have access to one of the following publications.

Australian guide to legal citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association & Melbourne Journal of International Law, 3rd ed, 2010). Available from http://mulr.law.unimelb.edu.au/go/aglc.

(This is free to download and is the citation style guide used by the majority of Australian legal journals.)

Rozenberg P, Australian guide to uniform legal citation (Sydney: Lawbook Co, 2nd ed, 2003).

Stuhmcke A, Legal referencing (Sydney: LexisNexis, 4th ed, 2012).

Recommended reference/s Below is a list of further references that you may find useful in this course. Purchase of recommended references is not compulsory.

Woodley M (ed), Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 12th ed). This is the classic, concise dictionary of legal terms which is very useful for students of law based subjects.

Cooper D & Schindler P, Business Research Methods (Boston: McGraw–Hill, 12th ed 2013).

Hutchinson T, Research and Writing in Law (Sydney: Thomson Reuters, 3rd ed, 2010).

Leedy P & Ormrod J, Practical Research: Planning and Design (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 10th ed 2012).

Nemes I & Coss G, Effective Legal Research (Sydney: LexisNexis, 5th ed 2012).

Salter M & Mason J, Writing Law Dissertations (Harlow Essex: Pearson Education, 2007). Out of print

Creswell J, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (London: Sage Publications, 4th ed 2013).



Supporting your learning

Conferencing Conferences may be either in the form of an audio conference (conducted by telephone) or a webinar (ie, a web-based Conference conducted over the Internet). Instructions on preparing for and participating in audio conferences and webinars are available on the Taxation & Business Law website and in your course Moodle website.

These Conferences provide an opportunity for you to clarify and extend your understanding of the material in this course. They are designed to try out new ideas and give you a forum to ask questions and discuss issues with your lecturer and other students. Do not be afraid to participate—it is only by trying out new ideas and exploring their dimensions that you will learn in any real depth.

Thorough preparation is essential if you are to gain maximum benefit from a Conference. You can only start to come to grips with material if you work on it actively. As a general rule each Conference will cover the module/s between the previous Conference and the week it falls within on the Suggested Study Schedule. However, more specific information on material to be covered in each Conference may be provided via Moodle throughout the Semester (see ‘Online learning in this course’ below). Exact dates and times for Conferences will be advised via a timetable that you will find on Moodle and on the TBL Website (under Timetables).

There are six webinars for this course during the Semester. The Suggested Study Schedule in this Outline indicates in which weeks Conferences will be held. Each Conference is of approximately one and a half hours duration.

Remember Conferences are not lectures—your active participation is an important part of the learning experience and preparation for examinations!



School of Taxation & Business Law Website The School of Taxation & Business Law’s website is at:

http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/Pages/default.aspx

In addition to general information for all of the School’s students and visitors, there is a portal under Student Resources which contains information specific to those students undertaking flexible learning courses—for example, information about exams, timetables and the Weekly Bulletin:

http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/studentresources/taxationprogramresources/Pages/default.aspx

Atax Student Guide The Atax Student Guide is a vital source of information for students studying flexible learning courses. It provides administrative and other information specific to studying these courses and you should make a point of being familiar with its contents. You can access the 2014 Atax Student Guide from the Taxation & Business Law Website or from your Moodle course website.

Library and resources There are several resources that you can access from the School of Taxation & Business Law website to help you with your academic and research goals. Online tax and legal resources can be found at:

http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/studentresources/Pages/usefullinks.aspx

From this site you can access:

The UNSW Library’s catalogue, online databases and e-journals

UNSW Library Online Training guides for library research skills

The UNSW Learning Centre for online academic skills resources (eg, essay and assignment writing, plagiarism), and

‘Gateway’ links to legislation, case law, tax and accounting organisations and international tax agencies.

The main UNSW Library website provides access to the general UNSW Library resources as well as a guide to legal research and links to major legal websites. The Library website is located at:

http://info.library.unsw.edu.au



For more tax specific information, you should access the ‘Taxation’ subject guide at:

http://subjectguides.library.unsw.edu.au/taxation

Legal research tools can be accessed from the ‘Legal Research’ subject guide at:

http://subjectguides.library.unsw.edu.au/legalresearch

The ‘Accounting’, ‘Business’, ‘Economics’ and ‘Law’ subject guides can also be accessed at:

http://subjectguides.library.unsw.edu.au/index.php

UNSW Library staff will assist you with:

locating journal articles, cases and legislation

searching on-line databases and e-journals through Sirius

loans of books

photocopies of articles, cases etc which can be arranged free of charge.

You can contact Library staff via the Library website or by telephone on +61 (2) 9385 2650. Additionally, contact information for the Faculty Outreach Librarians can be found at:

http://www.library.unsw.edu.au/about/corporate/outreach.html

Online learning in this course From 2014 UNSW will be using an online learning platform called ‘Moodle’. You should try to familiarise yourself with Moodle early in the semester. The Moodle course websites are where lecturers post messages and deliver documents to their class, where students can complete quizzes, submit assignments and participate in discussions, etc. This platform is an important link between you, your lecturer and your peers, and you should make a habit of regularly accessing your Moodle course website as part of your study regime.

All of the School’s flexible learning courses courses will have a Moodle course website, which is accessible only by students enrolled in that particular course. The contents of each site will vary, but at a minimum will provide you with information about the course, course content, assignment submission, email, relevant links to online resources and the opportunity to network with fellow students. In addition, Conferences will be recorded and made available via Moodle.



Moodle support

A complete library of how-to guides and video demonstrations on the Moodle learning management system is available via the UNSW Teaching Gateway at http://teaching.unsw.edu.au/elearning.

Moodle technical support

If you encounter a technical problem while using Moodle, please contact the UNSW IT Service Desk via the following channels: Email: [email protected] Phone: +61 (2) 9385 1333

Phone and email support is available Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am – 2pm.

Other support Additional support for students is available from the UNSW Learning Centre, which provides a range of services to UNSW students. The Learning Centre website also features very helpful online resources which may assist you to refine and improve your study skills. You can access these resources and find out more about the services available at www.lc.unsw.edu.au.

As well as the Learning Centre, the faculty’s Education Development Unit (EDU) provides academic writing, study skills and maths support specifically for ASB students. Services include workshops, online and printed resources, and individual consultations. For further information, see: http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/learningandteaching/studentservices/Pages/default.aspx

The EDU contact details are as follows: Phone: +61 (2) 9385 5584 Email: [email protected]

The ‘Academic Support’ section of the Atax Student Guide details further services available to assist you to achieve success in a flexible learning environment.

Those students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs with the course convenor prior to, or at the commencement of, their course, or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the UNSW Equity and Diversity Unit (telephone: +61 (2) 9385 4734; email: [email protected]). Issues to be discussed may include access to materials, signers or note-takers, the provision of services and additional exam and assessment arrangements. Early notification is essential to enable any necessary adjustments to be made. For further information, you may also wish to look at the Student Equity and Disabilities Unit homepage at http://www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au/



Academic Honesty and Plagiarism UNSW has an ongoing commitment to fostering a culture of learning informed by academic integrity. All UNSW students and staff have a responsibility to adhere to this principle of academic integrity. Plagiarism undermines academic integrity and is not tolerated at UNSW.

The University regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct, and has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. For UNSW policies, penalties, and information to help you avoid plagiarism see: http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/index.html as well as the guidelines in the online ELISE and ELISE Plus tutorials for all UNSW students: http://info.library.unsw.edu.au/skills/tutorials/InfoSkills/index.htm.

To see if you understand plagiarism, do this short quiz: http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/plagquiz.html

For information legal citation go to: http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/submissions/quick-aglc

The following discussion of plagiarism is adapted from the UNSW website at https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/atoz/Plagiarism.html.

Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own. Plagiarism is a type of intellectual theft. It can take many forms, from deliberate cheating to accidentally copying from a source without acknowledgement.

Examples of plagiarism include:

direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying work, or knowingly permitting it to be copied—this includes copying materials, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), computer program or software, website, internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment, or the student’s own assignment from a previous course, without appropriate acknowledgement

quotation without the use of quotation marks

paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor change keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original

citing sources which have not been read, without acknowledging the ‘secondary’ source from which knowledge of them has been obtained

piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole



presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people (e.g. another student or tutor)

claiming credit for a proportion of work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually contributed

using another person’s ideas or words in an oral presentation without crediting the source.

Note also that submitting your own assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit at UNSW or elsewhere may also be considered plagiarism.

The basic principles are that you should not attempt to pass off the work of another person as your own, and it should be possible for a reader to locate information and ideas you have used by going to the original source material. Acknowledgement should be sufficiently accurate to enable the source to be located quickly and easily.

The University has adopted an educative approach to plagiarism and has developed a range of resources to support students. If you are unsure whether, or how, to make acknowledgement, consult your lecturer or visit The Learning Centre at UNSW or at the following address:

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/

For more information, please refer to UNSW’s Plagiarism & Academic Integrity website at the following address:

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/index.html

Academic Misconduct carries penalties. If you are found guilty of academic misconduct, the penalties include warnings, remedial educative action, being failed in an assignment or being excluded from the University for a number of years. All students who are found guilty of academic misconduct will be placed on the UNSW Academic Misconduct register.



Assessment All assignments must be submitted electronically through Moodle. Note, however, that your Research Paper synopsis (if required) should not be submitted through the assignment section of Moodle. Please refer to Appendix A for guidelines on assignment preparation and rules for electronic submission of assignments (as well as information on deadlines and penalties for late submission).

Assessment for students undertaking this course will be on the basis of three separate assignments (see below for due dates and weightings). In order to pass this course, a student must obtain 50 per cent or more of the total marks available in the course.

Note: There will be NO EXAMINATION held for this course.

Assessment submission dates

There are 3 assignments:

Assignment 1

Due date: Monday, 7 April 2014 Weighting: 20% Word limit: 3000 words (plus or minus 10%)

Assignment 2

Due date: Monday, 5 May 2014 Weighting: 40% Word limit: 6000 words (plus or minus 10%)

Assignment 3

Due date: Monday, 2 June 2014 Weighting: 40% Word limit: 6000 words (plus or minus 10%)



ASSIGNMENT 1: TABL5805

Due Date: Submit via Moodle by Monday, 7 April 2014 (Midnight, AEST)

Weighting: 20%

Length: 3000 words (plus or minus 10%)

Topic: (students should choose one of the Tax or Business law exercises below)

For Tax students:

Read the High Court decision in the case of FCT v Unit Trend Services Pty Ltd [2013] HCA 16 (1 May 2013). Discuss the significance of this case on the effectiveness of the anti-avoidance provisions contained in Div 165 A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth). Reconcile the case with any previous or subsequent cases you consider relevant to the principles that underpin this decision. Indicate some of the secondary sources that have commented on the case and the import of those comments.

Ensure when discussing the case you show that you appreciate the previous relevant cases and the hierarchy of the courts involved in making those decisions.

OR

For Business Law students:

Read the High Court decision in the case of Western Export Services Inc & Ors v Jireh International Pty Ltd t/as Gloria Jean’s Coffee [2011] HCA 45. Discuss the implications of this case for the meaning of contractual terms in a commercial operation. Reconcile the case with any previous or subsequent cases you consider relevant to the principle of the meaning of contractual terms in a commercial operation. Indicate some of the secondary sources that have commented on the case and the import of those comments.

Ensure when discussing the case and other relevant cases you show that you appreciate the hierarchy of the courts involved in making those decisions.



Evaluation criteria

An important note on word limits

Assignments are exercises in filtering material and communicating it succinctly. Quantity is not to be confused with quality. Lecturers will uniformly apply this principle in their assessment of assignments.

Most word processing packages indicate word lengths, or otherwise some manual check must be done in the drafting process. Indicate the actual number of words of your assignment in the space indicated on your assignment cover sheet.

The following criteria will be used to grade assignments:

ability to locate and analyse correct legal sources, understanding those sources and their underlying rationales and policy

use of legal reasoning to come to a well developed conclusion

use of critical analysis when discussing and synthesising legal sources

clarity of communication—this includes development of a clear and orderly structure and the highlighting of core arguments (including, where appropriate, headings)

sentences in clear and, where possible, plain English—this includes correct grammar, spelling and punctuation

correct referencing and bibliographic style in accordance with a recognised and appropriate citation and style guide (when uploading, check your footnotes have been correctly submitted).

You are required to read beyond the study materials and references to do the assignment.




Due Date: Submit via Moodle by Monday, 5 May 2014

(Midnight, AEST)

Weighting: 40%


Topic:

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is (hypothetically) interested in finding out about the attitudes of Australian small business taxpayers towards tax compliance, and in particular, the level of trust (or distrust) in the ATO reported and the underlying drivers of these attitudes. You have been commissioned by the ATO to conduct this project. According to the contract, the study will be a 6-month survey research with data support from the ATO.

Required:

1. Work out a proposed timeline for this survey research.

(10% of available marks)

2. Review the concept of small business taxpayers’ attitudes to tax compliance. How can attitudes best be measured?


3. Identify the population of interest and discuss sample selection procedures.


4. Design a questionnaire for this project and fully justify each of your questions.


Please note that the word length in each part of the assignment is not required to be proportional to the marks allocated to that part.

Alternatively you may undertake a research topic of your own choosing, which must be agreed in advance with the lecturer in charge. The requirements for your own topic should be broken into similar components as those in the set topic above.



Evaluation criteria





ability to cut through the undergrowth and penetrate to key issues

identification of key facts and the integration of those facts in the logical development of argument

in the case of problem assignments, this means tying argument back to the problem and severely pruning less relevant material

demonstration of a critical mind at work and, in the case of better answers, of value added to key issues over and above that of the source materials



accurate numerical answers


You are encouraged to read beyond the study materials and references to do the assignment.




Due Date: Submit via Moodle by Monday, 2 June 2014 (Midnight, AEST)

Weighting: 40%


Critique three papers published in academic journals (excluding those included in the study materials) that present research findings based on either a qualitative or a mixed method research approach in the context of taxation or business law depending on which stream you are enrolled in (if in doubt check with your lecturer). You must choose at least one using each approach. In other words, you must cover both qualitative and mixed method approaches in the three papers you select.

Each critique is equally weighted in terms of marks, so you should allocate approximately 2000 words to each of your three selected papers.

For each critique you must address the following questions:

1. What research approach was used and, given its philosophical assumptions, was it appropriate to the research question?


2. Are the knowledge claims made in the paper valid and consistent with the research approach adopted?


3. Is (are) the strategy(ies) of inquiry used appropriate to the research question and how could it (they) be improved?


4. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the methods used and how could they be improved?




Evaluation criteria





ability to cut through the undergrowth and penetrate to key issues

identification of key facts and the integration of those facts in the logical development of your critique

ability to identify and evaluate strategies and methods of data collection used in research

quality of the analysis of strengths and weaknesses of the research approach and its appropriateness for the research problem

demonstration of a critical mind at work and, in the case of better answers, of value added to key issues over and above that of the source materials




You are required to read beyond the study materials and references to do the assignment.



Suggested study schedule Week Beginning Module Topic Events and submissions

1 3 March 1 Overview of research Webinar 1

2 10 March 1 Overview of research

3 17 March 2 Approaches to legal research Webinar 2

4 24 March 2 Approaches to legal research

5 31 March 3 Quantitative methods Webinar 3

6 7 April 3 Quantitative methods Assignment 1 due

7 14 April 4 Qualitative methods

Mid-semester break from Friday 18 April to Sunday 27 April 2014

8 28 April 4 Qualitative methods Webinar 4

9 5 May 4 Qualitative methods Assignment 2 due

10 12 May 5 Mixed methods Webinar 5

11 19 May 5 Mixed methods

12 26 May – Completion of final assignment Webinar 6

13 2 June – Completion of final assignment Assignment 3 due

Examination period from Saturday 13 June to Monday 30 June 2014

Course Profile—Appendix A Assignment preparation and submission

Atax Page 1

Assignment preparation and submission

Assignment preparation guidelines The following guidelines are offered as a general indication of what is expected in terms of the

presentation of both assignments and research papers in flexible distance (Atax) courses. With the

exception of the rules regarding ‘Acknowledgement of sources’ (see over), which are standard for any

work submitted for assessment at UNSW, individual lecturers may amend any of these guidelines for

particular assessment tasks. Each assessment task may also have particular requirements not covered here.

Where information here is in conflict with information provided by the course lecturer, you should follow

the advice of your lecturer.

Abstract

An abstract is used to summarise the subject of a research paper. Abstracts are only required for research

papers and should contain 100 to 200 words. Do not write an abstract for a problem-type assignment.

Margins

The margins of electronic assignment templates are pre-set to the following standard:

Left margin — 3.5 cm

Right margin — 3.5 cm

Top margin — 2.5 cm

Bottom margin — 2.5 cm

These margins are used to allow room for comments. Please do not alter these margin settings.

Headings/Table of contents

Headings should be typed in bold. Only capitalise the first letter of the heading. Do not capitalise the

entire heading. If you have written a long essay with many parts, a table of contents should be used.

Otherwise, do not include one.

Style of presentation

Your assignment should be typed into the relevant section of your electronic assignment template, using

an 11 or 12 point font. Single line spacing should normally be used, unless your lecturer tells you

otherwise. You should number each page of the assignment. The style for layout set out below should be

applied.

Spaces after words

Leave a space after each word, except where a punctuation mark is used. Where a punctuation mark is

used, the mark follows immediately after the word. Leave one space after any punctuation mark.

Assignment preparation and submission Course Outline—Appendix A

Page 2 Atax

Paragraphs

Leave a line after each paragraph. Do not indent the first line of the paragraph.

Footnotes and citation system

You should use footnotes as your referencing tool. Use end notes only if your computer cannot produce

footnotes. Use the rules set out in a recognised citation and style guide. Footnotes are not normally

included in the word limit, unless you include substantial commentary or discussion in the footnotes.

Do not abuse footnotes by including too much material in them in the hope of extending the word limit.

A note of caution: we have discovered that some word processing packages lose the footnotes when the

assignment is electronically lodged. Ensure at the time of lodgement that your footnotes have been

retained. This is not a problem that we have encountered with Microsoft Word®.

Bibliography

Details of works cited in the text are provided in a bibliography. The bibliography is placed at the end of

the document on a new page under the heading ‘Bibliography’. The bibliography is not included in the

word limit.

All publications (books, articles, theses etc) are included in the bibliography. Legal cases and legislation

are not included in the bibliography. If a list of cases is considered necessary due to the large number used,

it should be in alphabetical order under a separate heading ‘Legal cases’. A similar separate list, headed

‘Legislation’, is used if needed for legislation.

Your bibliography must be presented in the following format:

1. Items in the bibliography are listed alphabetically by author or source.

2. The citation style of the item should be in accordance with a recognised and appropriate citation

and style guide, except that specific page references are not included.

Acknowledgment of sources

You must acknowledge the source of ideas and expressions used in submitted work. To provide adequate

documentation is absolutely essential in academic work as the academic system depends on clear

reference to sources. The markers must be able to consult sources with ease. Failure to acknowledge

sources may constitute plagiarism, which is subject to a charge of academic misconduct.

UNSW sometimes uses software to check the authenticity of submitted assignments.

The following are the more common forms of plagiarism (from the obvious to more subtle)*:

quoting from a source ‘word for word’ without using quotation marks or proper

acknowledgement—this may include:

– copying an essay from another student

– copying a journal article or a section of a book

– copying sentences or paragraphs from someone else (essay, article, book, lectures etc)

using significant ideas from another author without acknowledgment—putting someone else’s

ideas into your own words and not acknowledging the source of the ideas

heavy reliance on the written expressions of someone else without proper acknowledgement—

quoting from a source ‘word for word’ without using quotation marks but with proper

acknowledgement, giving the impression that the expression of the idea is actually yours

excessive reliance on other people’s material—overuse of quoted material, properly

acknowledged, results in your sources speaking for you, meaning your own contribution is

minimal.

(* The above examples are adapted from UNSW Learning Centre information sheet ‘Avoiding plagiarism’).

Course Outline—Appendix A Assignment preparation and submission

Atax Page 3

Assignment submissions and deadlines This course uses UNSW Moodle for the electronic delivery and submission of assignments.

Please check your submission link – you may only be entitled to submit an assignment once in which

case additional and subsequent submissions will not be accepted.

Step-by-step guides have been produced to assist students through the assignment submission process, and

are available for download from the UNSW Teaching Gateway at https://student.unsw.edu.au/moodle.

Completing the cover sheet within the electronic template

In the past we required students to complete assignments on an assignment template that we had

created – this is no longer the case, however, you must ensure that you include a cover page with

each of your assignments that has the following information: your name, your student ID, the

course name, the course code, the due date and the word length. You should also include these

details the footer of your assignment document. A sample cover sheet can be found on Moodle in the

Assessments section. Failure to include this information could result in your assignment mark not

being recorded.

Re-name and save your assignment documents

For identification purposes you are required to name all of your assignment files that you are

submitting using the following naming convention: Surname_GivenName_Course Code format. For

example:

‘Lawson_Henry_TABL1001As1.doc’

You must also retain both an electronic and hard copy of every assignment. No mark can be given or

concession awarded should an assignment be lost and no evidence of completion is able to be provided by

the student.

Due date and time

Each assignment should be submitted via Moodle by midnight AEST (or AEDT, Australian Eastern

Daylight Time, where applicable) on the specified due date (eg, if the due date is Monday 7th April 2014,

your assignment is due by midnight on Monday night). You are advised to check your access to Moodle in

week 1 of Semester, to submit your assignment early if possible, and to allow at least 15 minutes for the

Moodle submission process. Many assignments will be parsed through TurnItIn which will check the

originality of your work. If you are given the opportunity to resubmit your assignment up until the due

date you should be aware that TurnItIn will only produce one originality report every 24 hours so

there may be a delay on receiving your updated originality report after the first submission. You must

allow for this in order to be able to submit your assignment on time. The version of your assignment

that is submitted at the due date will be the version that is accepted for marking. For information on

TurnItIn functions and how to interpret originality reports please go here:

http://www.turnitin.com/static/training/student.php.

Due dates are chosen to facilitate the pacing of the student and lecturer workloads. The overall aim is to

promote efficient learning and prompt feedback to the student. Lecturers will make every effort to return

assignments (which are submitted on time) within three weeks with appropriate comments and feedback.

https://student.unsw.edu.au/moodle

http://www.turnitin.com/static/training/student.php

Assignment preparation and submission Course Outline—Appendix A

Page 4 Atax

Problems with Moodle assignment submission

If you encounter technical difficulties while attempting to access Moodle, and are unable to submit your

assignment, please contact the IT Service Desk by email to [email protected] or by

telephone on +61 (2) 9385 1333. Your lecturer will not be able to assist with assignment submission

issues, and cannot accept assignments emailed direct to him/her.

Assignment return

Assignments may be marked electronically or on paper. Feedback for electronically-marked assignments

will be made available electronically, usually through Moodle. Feedback for assignments marked by paper

will be returned in hard copy format to the mailing address you have recorded on myUNSW. It is

therefore important that you keep your address details up-to-date on myUNSW

(https://www.my.unsw.edu.au).

Late submission penalties

An assignment is not considered to be late if it has been submitted via Moodle on or before the due time

and date. Posted, faxed or e-mailed assignments will NOT be marked and should not be sent.

If you submit an assignment after the due date, please be aware that the following penalties will be

applied.

Where assignments are up to one week (ie 1–5 working days) late: 10% of the maximum

marks available for the assessment item will be deducted.

Where assignments are more than one week late and up to two weeks (ie 6–10 working days)

late: 20% of the maximum marks available for the assessment item will be deducted.

Where assignments are more than two weeks (ie 11 or more working days) late: the

assignment can be perused, but no marks will be awarded. Assignments will be recorded only as

having been submitted.

Please note that the penalties are applied to the maximum marks available for the assignment, not the

actual mark awarded. For example, a student is due to submit an assignment by 16 April 2014. The

assignment is in fact submitted on 30 April 2014 (10 working days late). The penalty for lateness will be

20% of the maximum marks for the assessment. If the student’s mark before the imposition of the penalty

was a credit mark of 65%, after taking the penalty into account this mark will fall to 45%—a failure.

Penalty remission

If illness or other verified circumstances beyond your control have a significant effect on your ability to

submit an assignment by the due date, the normal penalty may be remitted. All medically related

requests must be made using the Penalty Remission form (downloadable from

http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/Documents/penalty_remission.pdf).

Doctor’s reasons must be sufficiently detailed and specifically address the effect of the medical condition

on your ability to complete assignments.

General points

The Student Services Office supervises all penalty remission requests. Lecturers are not

permitted to grant penalty remissions and you should not approach lecturers for this purpose.

You should not anticipate that a Penalty Remission will be granted, and should endeavour to

submit all assignments as soon as possible.

You are advised to begin preparing assignments well before the submission date so that normal

problems are easily avoided.

You should also check that you have access to Moodle, and that your computer is correctly

configured to submit assignments, well before the assignment due date.

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.my.unsw.edu.au/

http://www.asb.unsw.edu.au/schools/taxationandbusinesslaw/Documents/penalty_remission.pdf

Course Outline—Appendix A Assignment preparation and submission

Atax Page 5

If you require academic assistance contact your lecturer or the Academic Support Coordinator

during the period that you are preparing assignments.

You have only 13 weeks in the Semester, during which time all assignments must be completed.

You also need to prepare for the final examination in all courses. Therefore, your time

management is very important.

Guidelines for lodging a Penalty Remission Request

All requests for Penalty Remissions must be made in writing using the Penalty Remission Application

form. Penalty Remissions should be posted (within 24 hours of submitting your assignment) to:

Penalty Remissions

School of Taxation & Business Law,

The University of New South Wales,

UNSW Sydney, NSW 2052.

It is your responsibility to give full reasons for requesting remission of the penalty, in writing, and to

ensure that all necessary documentation are sent with your Penalty Remission application.

YOU MUST ALSO INDICATE YOUR INTENTION TO APPLY FOR PENALTY REMISSION

BY EMAILING THE SCHOOL OFFICE ([email protected]).

If you are unsure whether your situation is likely to be a ‘reasonable’ request you should refer to the

‘Grounds for Penalty Remission Being Granted’ policy presented in the Atax Student Guide. You may

wish to seek further advice from the Student Services Office in order to obtain an indicative reply (you

will then need to provide all relevant documentation to substantiate your formal request).

The following is very important:

If your assignment is up to one week (ie 1–5 working days) late, your penalty remission request must

clearly show that you are seeking a one week penalty remission and you must clearly state your reasons

and provide all relevant documentation. If your reasons are judged insufficient you will receive no

remission of penalty.

If your assignment is more than one week late but less than two weeks (ie 6–10 working days) late,

your penalty remission request should indicate whether you are seeking a 10% or a 20% remission.

You must clearly show why the penalty remission you are seeking is valid and provide all relevant

documentation. If you have requested remission of a 20% penalty and your reasons are judged insufficient,

you may receive either a 10% remission or no remission depending on the judged validity of your request.

If you requested 10% and your reasons are judged insufficient you will receive no remission of penalty.

Extensions of time in exceptional circumstances

Only in the most exceptional circumstances will you be awarded any marks for an assignment

submitted more than two weeks late. If you believe such truly exceptional circumstances apply as to

justify submission more than two weeks beyond the due date, please contact the School Office on

+61 (2) 9385 9534 so that your case can be considered by the appropriate Program Convenor as quickly as

possible. Appropriate documentation will need to follow your telephone request rapidly. You should be

aware that where an extension of time later than two weeks after the submission date is granted, this new

date is an absolute deadline. No later submission date will be permitted and the late penalty rules will not

apply.

mailto:[email protected]